Mario Kart ULTIMATE
|developer = Comet Gaming, Inc. |publisher = Comet Gaming, Inc. |released = Japan: June 27, 2013 Europe: July 5, 2013 North America: July 7, 2013 Australia: July 12, 2013 |genre = Racing |ratings = |platforms = The Future Nintendo|modes = Single Player, Multiplayer (2-4), Online Multiplayer (2-24)|media = Future Nintendo Disc|image = |series = Mario Kart |predecessor = Mario Kart 7 |successor = Mario Kart Comet}}Mario Kart ULTIMATE is a kart racing game for the Future Nintendo made by Comet Gaming, Inc. It is the eighth installment in the Mario Kart ''series. It was released during the early summer of 2013 in all regions. The game is based on ''Mario Kart: Double Dash ''and ''Mario Kart Wii ''mostly, with some basis from the other titles. Most notable among its features is the return of two players per kart. Gameplay Returning Elements Gameplay will be similar to previous installments. It brings back tracks from each ''Mario Kart game. It brings back the Poison Mushroom, which was only used in Super Mario Kart. Two people in a kart from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! returns as well, being unlockable for later use. It also has the kart format of each player having their own karts at their disposal from Mario Kart DS, instead of having to use karts shared by the character's size class. Gliding returns, though underwater doesn't. Gliding can be activated by using a blue ramp, or instantly with a P-Wing, which is Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa's special item. Speaking of special items, they also return from Double Dash!!, each pair having their own. Also, similar to Mario Kart Wii, ''up to four players can simultaneously play VS, Battle, or go online. New Elements There are many new elements in this game. Firstly, four new cups have been added to accomodate retro courses, and this is the first ''Mario Kart where DLC will be usable. This game sports the greatest number of characters (49) and items (35). There are also several new modes, listed below. This game also introduces tire pressure and gas as a factor. If a flat tire occurs (by a sudden collison or bumpy and jagged road), Lakitu will stop the player briefly to change their tire out. If the player's gas meter drops and he/she hasn't found one of the fifty gas tanks scattered around the course, Lakitu will also stop him/her to refill them. Also, this is the first game where the number of people in a race can vary. There can be 8, 12, 16, or 24 racers on the track at a single time. In Double Dash mode, 8 and 12 are not usable and 16 and 24 feature 8 and 12 karts, respectively. Controls and Techniques There are many techniques in the game, all of which can be performed using The Future Nintendo's vertasile controller, which can morph into seventeen different forms, but only the main one is used in Mario Kart ULTIMATE. Basic *'Accelerate: '''A *'Brake: B *'Reverse: '''Hold B *'Steer: 'Move the control stick. *'Look Back: 'ZL *'Drift: 'R *'Mini-Turbo: 'Drift long enough for blue sparks to appear, then orange, then red. *'Switch Characters (Double Dash): 'ZR *'Items: 'L *'Glide: 'Use a P-Wing or get on a blue ramp and move the control stick. *'Trick: 'Shake the controller. Advanced *'Rocket Start: 'Press and hold A as the countdown before the race gets to 2 (3, 2 (push here), 1, GO! *'Tricks: 'Shake the controller on a jump. *'Double Dash: 'In two-player co-op, have both players do a rocket start. The effect will double. *'Slipstream: 'Stay behind an opponent long enough to get a speed boost by drafting. Game Modes Grand Prix (1 player) There are 12 cups in all. There are 6 new cups and 6 retro cups, the latter featuring 3 tracks from ''Super Mario Kart, 64, Super Circuit, and DS, and four tracks from Double Dash!!, Wii, and 7''. Each cup has four tracks. Grand Prix is played in Single Dash mode, which has one person on a kart, and Double Dash mode (unlocked later) where two people can go on a kart. And, the first time since ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Grand Prix can be played in multiplayer, with up to four people. Grand Prix can be played in four different modes: 50cc (easy), 100cc (medium), 150cc (hard), and Mirror (flipped courses, expert). Double Dash Double Dash is unlocked when all of the characters have been unlocked. It is playable in Grand Prix, VS, Battle, and Online, but not in Time Trials. There are two in a kart: one drives, and one handles the items. Double Item Boxes will also return, giving both players an item. The two racers can switch at any time. In multiplayer, there is also co-op mode where the two players are in the same kart and collaborate. GP Unlockables Point Spread Comparison There are modes in this game with 8, 12, 16, and 24 karts at once, meaning that the point spread will vary. Time Trials (1 Player) The player can choose any track to race on and they can try to beat their time. There are two staff ghosts on a course, easy ghosts and hard ghosts. The player can save up to eleven of their own and they can have a race with other peoples' ghosts, similarly to Mario Kart 7. ''Racers met online can also be added to the ghost list. The player can also view the worldwide, regional, or local rankings for a course. VS (1-4 players) It's completely new. The player can alter the race tracks or even create his/her own, and then race in them. It can also be played the classic way, too, though. In Classic VS, the player can pick the number of racers (8-24), the engine size, the items used, the CPU difficulty, what CPU players are playing as, the number of races, and the tracks played. Track Editor Whether the player is using an existing track or creating one, ''Mario Kart ULTIMATE's ''track editor has it all. It has twenty-two different track tiles and forty-one different backgrounds. Obstacles such as Goombas and Mushroom platforms can be added too. Weird twists can be added such as items everywhere which can make tracks more fun to play. Creations and modifications can be saved and published in an online library. Battle (1-4 players) There are five modes of battle, two new. Most can be played in individual or team modes, except for a few. In team mode, the ability to pick teammates debuts. *'Balloon Battle: This is the classic mode the player has to use items to pop all five of the opponent's balloons. If there is only one person or one team left, then they win, reverting to the pre-''Mario Kart Wii'' format. This can be played in single mode or team mode. *'Coin Runners: '''The players run around the stage to collect as many coins as possible before time runs out (five minutes). This can be played in both single and team mode. *'Shine Thief: Like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the players have to get a Shine Sprite and hold it for as long as possible until the timer (one minute) runs out. This can be played in both single and team mode. *'''Boss Battle: Two teams take on two separate bosses in an enclosed area. The bosses are Mecha Bowser from Super Mario Galaxy and a large ROB. The bosses always have fifty lives and whichever team beats their boss first wins. Small items (shells, Bob-ombs, etc.) count for one point. Powerful items count for two points, and special items count for three. Non-offensive weapons are not used. This must be played in teams. *'Demolition Derby: '''Like balloon battle without balloons. The players must go around hitting people without items and do as much damage as possible. Each player has fifty lives, similarly to Boss Battle, and the items do the same damage. The last person standing wins. This can't be played in teams. Minigames (1 player) The player can visit the minigame plaza where there are three minigames open to play. Characters and cars can be unlocked by beating these. High scores can be submitted onto an online leaderboard. *'Shell Toss: 'The player is given sixteen Green Shells in an enclosed area. Goombas will drop from the sky, along with item boxes that automatically give two more shells when touched. There is a one-minute timer. The player has to hit as many Goombas as possible. *'Galaxy Hunt: 'The player starts on the Comet Observatory, where Rosalina (Luma if Rosalina is being used) tells him/her that she has hidden twenty large Star Bits around the observatory (appearing like in the battle course). The player must find them as quickly as possible. *'Kart Golf: 'The player starts on a Par 3 golf course, where the kart has a club built on the right side. It has star power, used for hitting the ball great distances. The player must finish this hole, a Par 4, and a Par 5 (all taken from ''Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour) with the least amount of strokes possible. Online (1-4 players) The player can connect online with as many as three other people and pick Local, Regional, or International. The maximum for online races is 24 people per race, but they can pick 12, too. Hackers and cheaters are not allowed online, and their Future Nintendo can be blocked from the game's online if one of the Nintendo moderators catches them. Battle is also playable along with VS (regular) and Grand Prix. Mario Kart Channel Like in Mario Kart Wii ''and ''Mario Kart 7, ''this game will feature a Mario Kart Channel. It has several functions. *'Ghost Race: 'Like in ''Mario Kart Wii, the player can race a random ghost from a random course, though its time is usually around the player's record. *'Rankings: '''The player can access rankings for tournaments and courses in time trials. *'Social Plaza: 'If the player wants to add friends, they can go to the plaza, where they will race against a random person who is also there. If the player wants to, they can add that person as a friend. *'Friends: 'Here the player can see their friends, access their ghosts, and challenge one to an online race. *'Tournaments: 'Like in ''Mario Kart Wii, semi-monthly tournaments exist, with altered race courses being a challenge for the player, who must get the best time in the course. *'Library: '''The player can play their created tracks from VS and post them online if they want to. *'DLC: 'The DLC shop is open, where the player can buy characters or cups for $1.00 and $1.50, respectively. Playable Characters There are forty-nine characters, each (not including DLC) with a partner. Twelve are already unlocked, twelve are unlockable, and twenty-five can be purchased for $1.00 each with DLC. There are three weight classes: Light, Medium and Heavy. Light characters have high acceleration and handling, while heavy characters have high speed and weight. Medium characters have all-around stats. Each pair of characters has their own special item, while DLC characters can use any special item, much like King Boo and Petey Piranha in ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, making all twenty-five powerful characters. Starting Characters There are twelve starting characters. Unlockable Characters As the player progresses in the game, more characters will become unlocked. There are twelve, with four in each class. Kamek and Kamella see their Mario Kart debut, along with Luma, who is placed in Medium because there wasn't enough room to put him in light. Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa are also in Medium, but this was because Bowser had all of the Troop fitted with heavy shells. Surprisingly, Bowser Jr. is in Light because he already had a spiked shell, so Bowser didn't need to change it. Unlocking Criteria DLC There are twenty-five characters purchasable from the DLC shop for $1.00 each. These consist of eight of each weight class plus the Mii, which varies based on its settings. Three of the Koopalings make their Mario Kart debut along with three babies, Pianta, Noki, Hammer and Boomerang Bros, Dixie and Tiny Kong, Boom Boom, Pom Pom, and Lubba. DLC characters do not have a partner or special item, but can use any. Outfit Changes All characters have two outfit swaps. The first change can be used when two star ranks have been achieved for all cups and the second for three stars. Stat Bonuses Characters have stat bonuses for some categories that make their kart slightly better by how many it says. For example, if Bowser Jr. was driving, his kart would be six points faster than normal. Karts The game will feature retro karts along with new ones. The feature to create a kart will not be returning from Mario Kart 7, and neither will bikes, but Nintendo assured that the game will still be great without them. As stated earlier, tire pressure and gas will be factors in this game. Gallons of gas are found on the track to refill the tank, which will deplete in an average of two minutes, depending on the car. Large cars tend to use more gas. If the player runs out of gas, then they are given another one and set back ten seconds from the race. Tires can pop from a sudden jolt in the road and Lakitu will stop the player to change their tire. Each character has two karts, a default one and an unlockable one. DLC-purchased characters do not have their own karts and can use any in their size class. That goes for all characters (being able to use all karts in their class), but the only one that is customized is the Standard Kart. There are four types of kart, like in Mario Kart Wii. *'Standard: '''These have starts closer to the norm for their weight class, all stats usually between 30-50 points out of 80. These consume a tank of gas in about two minutes. *'Speed: 'These have high speed and drift, but poor acceleration and handling. These consume a tank of gas in one and a half minutes. *'Terrain: 'These have high off-road and handling, but poor drift and speed. These consume a tank of gas in two minutes. *'Control: 'These have high acceleration and handling, but poor drift and speed. These consume a tank of gas in two and a half minutes. Off-road and drifting differ from kart to kart but are usually higher in lighter karts. Also, there is a standard kart for each weight class that is designed similarly to the Standard Kart in ''Mario Kart Wii. Stats are out of 80. Karts Items The game introduces many new items. Also, each team of characters has a special item like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The number of people in a race can vary, so there are several categories to describe what place the player gets them in: top, high, middle, low, and bottom. To describe these in 12-racer terms, top would be 1-2, high 3-5, middle 6-8, low, 9-10, and bottom 11-12. Standard Items (Everyone can use them) Special Items Courses There are a total of 56 tracks and 14 battle courses. 8 tracks are purchasable from DLC, bringing the number of regular tracks to 48, divided into 12 cups. There are four new cups, the Egg Cup, Boo Cup, Heart Cup, and Blooper cup, made to accommodate all of the retro courses. There are three new circuits, along with a track based on Toy Time Galaxy, a roller coaster, an arena, Peach's Castle, and a Mushroom-Gorge-esque track, to name a few. As with all Mario Karts, this game has a Bowser's Castle, Mario Circuit, and Rainbow Road. Among the retro courses, there are 3 SNES, N64, GBA, and DS, and 4 GCN, Wii, and 3DS, summing up to 24. Fan favorites that return are Yoshi Valley, Sherbet Land, Mushroom City, Neo Bowser City, and Toad's Factory. Race Courses There are 48 race courses divided into 12 cups. :Main article: Mario Kart ULTIMATE/Courses New Courses These are courses that are new to the Mario Kart ''series and have not appeared in any other installments. Retro Courses These are courses that have appeared in the previous seven ''Mario Kart ''series games. Cup Unlocking Criteria By the way, unlocking a cup in the right column means that that it is open for all engine classes, returning to the ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!! format. Battle Courses Mario Kart ULTIMATE ''features seven new battle courses and seven retro battle courses, for a total of fourteen. The last two in each category are unlockable. Unlocking Criteria DLC Purchasable Tracks Two cups of four tracks are purchasable from the DLC shop for $4.00 each. There is one cup with new tracks and one cup with retro tracks. These are playable in all modes. Staff Ghosts As in previous games, each track has a staff ghost in Time Trials. One is easy, and one is hard. The hard one can be unlocked by beating the easy one. Each track's ghosts are the same, meaning that the same name is used for both ghosts in a track. All tracks use the same character for both, with the expert ghost using the unlockable kart and the normal ghost using the default kart. Unlockables In ''Mario Kart ULTIMATE, there are various unlockables, most of which have been previously stated. Characters Cups Battle Courses Karts Modes Gallery Main article: Mario Kart ULTIMATE/Gallery Beta Elements *The game was originally only supposed to have 8 cups, but after protestors broke into Nintendo and demanded more, they added a lot. *But Nintendo added way too many more and they decided to trim the number from 60 to 14. *Characters used to be able to access all karts, but were limited to their weight class's. *There used to be a mission mode, but it was pulled before the release. *Toadsworth was going to be a playable character, but was replaced by Baby Donkey Kong. *In the demo at E3 2100, there was a song that was played on Yoshi Circuit, but isn't found in the real game. *A stage called boo_course is playable by ROM hacking. Its map is similar to that of Toy Time Playroom but has textures like Boo Valley. *A stage called junk_course is playable by ROM hacking. It looks similar to Star Road but appears based on Space Junk Galaxy. *A lot of tracks were purchasable from DLC, but most were pulled. *N64 Toad's Turnpike was set to be in the game instead of Yoshi Valley, but it was changed. *3DS Music Park was replaced with 3DS Piranha Plant Slide. *Wii DK Summit was replaced with Wii Toad's Factory. *GBA Broken Pier was replaced with GBA Bowser's Castle 4. Toadsworth2.png|Toadsworth's beta art. Staff *Almost everything: *Boxart: Category:Fan Games Category:Games Category:Mario Category:Mario Games Category:Mario Kart Series Category:Racing Games Category:Kart Racing Category:Peach Category:Peach Games Category:Luigi Category:Luigi Games Category:Yoshi Category:Yoshi Games Category:Donkey Kong Games Category:Donkey Kong Category:Spin-offs Category:Wario Category:Wario Games Category:Waluigi Category:Waluigi Games Category:Bowser Category:Bowser Games Category:Track Racing Games Category:Comet Gaming Inc. 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